{"id":2655,"date":"2013-07-06T00:50:36","date_gmt":"2013-07-05T23:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/?p=2655"},"modified":"2013-07-06T00:52:23","modified_gmt":"2013-07-05T23:52:23","slug":"novak-djokovic-combines-buddhist-mindfulness-and-tennis-at-wimbledon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2013\/07\/novak-djokovic-combines-buddhist-mindfulness-and-tennis-at-wimbledon.html","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic combines Buddhist Mindfulness and Tennis at Wimbledon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This Sunday, July 7th, will see Serbian Novak Djokovic go racket-to-racket with local star Andy Murray at the Wimbledon finals (games start at 2pm GMT \/ 9am EST).<\/p>\n

It seems that when Djokovic isn\u2019t on the court or otherwise being pretty all-around-awesome (see below), he spends at least some of his time meditating. When he was asked<\/a> about his meditation practice at a Buddhist center in Wimbledon village, he responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very calm and quiet, obviously. I stay in a house which is very nearby. This is a place which we all visit. We like Wimbledon and London in general because there\u2019s so many beautiful parks and nature, places which you can call getaways, where during these two weeks of a hectic Grand Slam atmosphere that goes around, so many people, obviously there is huge amount of pressure and stress and everything involved, so you need to have a place where you know you can switch off and recharge your batteries.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The temple, which is open to everyone, is a beautiful Thai complex called Buddhapadipa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Telegraph reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Sutheera Pflughaupt\u2019s face lights up when Novak Djokovic\u2019s name is mentioned. She is a kitchen volunteer in the Buddhist centre the world No. 1 visits to meditate and \u201crecharge\u201d between matches at Wimbledon, and over the years they have grown close.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe stays in the house next door every year, for many years,\u201d she says of the Serb. \u201cI have a photo with him every time. Tomorrow I have tickets for the Centre Court, maybe I will see him play.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story continues with an interview with\u00a0Lynne Parry, a volunteer at the Temple, saying of the practice:\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s all about the moment, focusing on the now, not the past or the future. And it\u2019s about people \u2013 the Buddha wasn\u2019t a god, he\u2019s a man.<\/strong>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In good fun, the article ends with a swipe at the Swiss great, Roger Federer: \u201cShe also offered a clue as to why\u00a0Roger Federer\u00a0<\/span>has yet to follow his rival in his quest for inner peace. \u201cNon-self is very important idea. It means giving up the ego.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The winning news title goes to the Bangkok Post with\u00a0It\u2019s Wimble-Zen as Djokovic gets inner Buddhist peace<\/a>\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

As perhaps needs to be hammered-in far more these days, a key part of making mindfulness work is having a strong foundation in sila (ethics) \u2013 my thanks to Genju from 108zenbooks<\/a> for pointing this out in comments to a recent post here<\/a>. When it comes to ethics, I think Djokovic is doing pretty well:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Djokovic hanging out at a turtle rehabilitation center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Novak Djokovic, UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia and the celebrated tennis champion, visited the \u201cBeneath the Linden Trees\u201d kindergarten in the village of Lesnica, 150 km west of the Belgrade capital, to raise awareness of the importance of investment in early development and early childhood learning. During the visit, Novak spent time with the children, talked to their parents and caregivers, and met with local authorities. (Photo: Tanjug) \u2013 photos via NovakDjokovic.com<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just so you don\u2019t think these are one-off PR stunts, have a look around his Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So I guess you know who I\u2019ll be rooting for on Sunday with, it seems, \u00a0John McEnroe and Chris Evert on my side<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For one last bit of fun,\u00a0Novak Djokovic: Top Ten Hilarious Moments from Tennis Now:<\/span><\/p>\n